ACC power rankings after Week 7: Clemson earns another blowout win
Week 7 of ACC play is complete.
It was a mostly-quiet week for the ACC as undefeated (in conference play) teams like Miami and SMU were both off. There also weren’t any major upsets this week — Clemson, Pitt, Louisville, Syracuse and Georgia Tech all took care of business against teams lower down in the rankings. Still, there is a bit of movement this week as we continue to learn more about these teams.
Here’s Saturday Down South’s updated ACC Week 7 power rankings:
17. NC State (Previously: 17)
Another tough loss for NC State this weekend. The Wolfpack have a young team and have earned the last-place spot on this list. With that being said, they do still have a somewhat-realistic chance to go bowling without beating anyone higher than 12th on this ranking. Stanford, Duke and UNC remain on the schedule. NC State also has games at Cal and Georgia Tech that are theoretically winnable.
16. Wake Forest (Previously: 15)
Wake Forest got smoked by Clemson this week. The Demon Deacons looked like they were going to hang around in this game for awhile, but they turned it over twice and only had 3 third-down conversions all day.
15. Florida State (Previously: 16)
FSU was idle in Week 7.
14. Stanford (Previously: 14)
Stanford got pummeled by Notre Dame on Saturday. Ashton Daniels was back in the lineup this week, but the Cardinal were still uncompetitive on offense.
13. North Carolina (Previously: 13)
North Carolina has lost 4 in a row since its 3-0 start to the season.
12. Duke (Previously: 12)
Duke was off this weekend.
11. Boston College (Previously: 11)
Boston College did not play in Week 7.
10. Virginia (Previously: 9)
Tough loss for Virginia at home against Louisville. There’s still a path to bowl eligibility this season, though.
9. Virginia Tech (Previously: 10)
Virginia Tech was idle in Week 7.
8. Cal (Previously: 8)
Cal lost another heartbreaker at Pitt. The Golden Bears have acquitted themselves well this season in the ACC, but they haven’t been rewarded for it yet.
7. Georgia Tech (Previously: 7)
Georgia Tech beat North Carolina on an improbable 68-yard touchdown run from Jamal Haynes at the end of regulation. The Yellow Jackets needed that one.
6. Syracuse (Previously: 5)
Syracuse beat NC State by 7. It was far from convincing for the Orange, who allowed a putrid NC State offense to move the ball pretty well on Saturday. But a win is a win.
5. Louisville (Previously: 6)
Louisville squeaked out a win over Virginia on the road. The Cardinals were up big early, but ultimately needed a touchdown with 1:55 remaining to take the lead for good. Louisville has not been as impressive over the past few weeks, but Jeff Brohm’s team has a big test next weekend against Miami.
4. Pitt (Previously: 3)
Pitt slips a spot after barely squeaking by Cal. It was a tough game for Eli Holstein, who will need to play better moving forward if Pitt is going to contend at the top of this league.
3. SMU (Previously 4)
SMU was idle in Week 7.
2. Clemson (Previously: 2)
Clemson picked up another blowout win this week over Wake Forest. Here’s an interesting question to ponder: Who is the best team that Clemson has beaten this year? None of the 5 appear to be headed bowling. I think the answer might be Florida State, which says a lot about what we still don’t know about Clemson.
1. Miami (Previously: 1)
Miami was idle this week and hangs on to the No. 1 spot.
Clemson will be ACC Champ because they are better than the rest including Miami. Any ACC team in the Playoffs loses.
League is sinking fast
Pitt drops a spot to a team that didn’t play after beating a gritty cal team…of whom took your #1 team to the brink? don’t overcomplicate things.